Lastimoso said that compared to last year’s average ridership of 410,681 a day, the average number of passengers riding the trains daily is now 430,000.
"We are steadily increasing by five to 10 percent. We are now averaging 430,000 riders on a weekday," the MRT chief said during a recent MRT Station Enhancement Program held at the Taft Avenue Station in Pasay City.
Since its opening in December 1999 and full line operation last July 2000, average daily ridership of the rail system grew from 124,174 to an average of 410,681 passengers per day, the Metro Rail Transit Authority (MRTA) said.
For 2005, the MRT, which runs from North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City, transported a total 128,751,959 passengers.
The total ridership of the MRT last year was six million more than the 122,512,169 in 2004.
In 2003, 112,653,067 passengers rode the MRT while there were 102,443,564 riders in 2002.
In 2001, the MRT carried 90,229,433 passengers, about 50 million more than the combined total passenger load during years 1999 and 2000.
The MRT operates seven days a week, with 245 trips per day on weekdays, and 170 and 150 trips on Saturdays and Sundays, respectively.
At a full load, each train can carry a total of 1,182 passengers at any given time.
During peak hours, the MRT dispatches 20 trips in one hour which results in the present load capacity of 26,000 passengers, 2,400 more than its 23,600 design load capacity.
The MRT attributed the increase in ridership to the opening of the direct pedestrian link between Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 and the MRT, plus the shifting of passengers from road to rail use due to heavy traffic on EDSA.
A one-way trip from North Avenue station to Taft Avenue station takes less than 30 minutes using the MRT.
Lastimoso said the MRT fares of P10 to P15 is far less than the maximum fare of ordinary buses and air-conditioned public utility vehicles (PUVs).
To address the rapid increase of its ridership, the MRT recently adopted improvements and service enhancements.
The measures include a plan to purchase 48 additional coaches for the railway system.
Another enhancement is the reinstallation of the automatic gates of the Taft Avenue station to another area to give more space to passengers waiting in line for tickets.
Another is the installation of ticket issuing machines (TIMs) at some of the stations.